Shortleaf
pine, also known as rosemary pine, yellow pine and old-field
pine, is widely distributed throughout the South. It can be
found in pure or mixed stands from the Coastal Plain to the
uplands and lower mountain slopes. In the lower mountains, it
grows with hardwoods and four other species of pine: white;
pitch; Virginia; and table mountain.

Shortleaf
pine needles are 3 to 5 inches long, slender, flexible, dark
green and grow in clusters of two or three. Needles begin dropping
at the end of the second season, with some remaining until the
fifth year.

The
symmetrical cones are ovoid, short stalked, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches
long and are armed with a short spine at the tip of each scale.
The seed-fall begins in early autumn and continues into the
winter. The empty cone remains on the tree for several years.

Mature
shortleaf pine bark is broken into irregularly shaped plates
that are covered with thin, reddish scales -- often thinner
and lighter-colored than that of old loblolly pine. Small surface
pits or holes in the outer bark scales are a unique feature
of this tree.